[Admiral Von Gerlach]

Wow wonderful work! i reccognize those ships very well, having commanded them all in various wargaming engagments with the Naval Wargamming Society in the UK many many years ago, as both Kapitan and Admiral. It is very exciting to see the big brothers coming to life under your noble skills sir.

Seeing them brings to mind the many many discussions and debates each year in the naval appropriations of each nation all the decisions about number and location of turrets, size of ships, armament, armour strength, speed and so forth as each of the great fleets was created. As an interesting historical note, the cost of these great ships was enormous for that era and would be even more so if it were in modern costs. 20,000,000 pounds of money of that era was required for each ship yearly of that size so imagine the overall cost, in creating both the ships and all of the equipment, armament, ammunition, training ashore and at sea of the crews of hundreds of thousands of sailors and officers, proviisioning, suppying and training of all of the same, fleet bases, harbours supply stations, coaling staitons world wide, defense, and deployment. The ships themselves were just the tip of the huge spear each fleet consisted of. And then each of the classes of ships large and small each ship had its own character, history, trimphs and tragedies and much of that will be forever unknown. Your work is helping lift the curtain on that, and for that I am so grateful.

thank you so much for giving the past and its history a voice again. Not even Scapa Flow could keep those ones asleep...and you are doing so well. thank you!